The Lawro Audit: BPL Week 14

So who had Leicester to be top of the English Premiership near the end of November? Anyone? Gary Lineker sure as hell didn’t. He bad-mouthed the appointment of Claudio Ranieri and now Leicester are flying high, looking like a different team from last season, and there’s the striker of theirs who has scored one or two goals. Hard to believe Jamie Vardey was playing non-league football not so long ago and is now making waves throughout the world with his goal scoring exploits. What else? Well, Manchester United fans are just so excited by their new team’s style of play. It must be terrible paying so much for a ticket to watch Manchester United and then being bored to tears by them. There was a great question on the BBC when talking about Manchester United, and they were, to paraphrase, asked, “Would you prefer your team to win or play good football.” So, would you be happy if your team was winning but playing awful football? Or do you want to be entertained? It’s the age-old question in football.

Now, last week was an absolute shocker our hero, with him predicting four winners, but getting no correct scores. What matches did Lawro predict correctly? He got Manchester United, Chelsea, Everton and Spurs’ wins correct, and that was it. They were 10/11, 2/5, 4/7 and 4/7, so it wasn’t like he even got close to getting us a nice win. You scoundrel, Lawro! So we ended up with a loss of -13.55 units, which takes our lovely, lovely profit down to +14.51 units. This better not be where it all starts to go Pete Tong for Lawro! Especially not that the wife is wanting a Louis Vuitton handbag! So, come on, Lawro, get your predictions back on track, I have a woman with expensive tastes to cater for.

Before we get down to the main event of Mark Lawrenson’s predictions for this week’s English Premiership fixtures. As usual, we can’t forget that our friends at Bet365 are doing their Bore Draw promotion again this week. Remember, if you place a bet of up to on any of the correct score, half-time/full-time or scorecast markets, and the game finishes 0-0, Bet365 will refund your money. So once you’ve looked at Lawro’s tips, head on over to our good friends at Bet365 and get your money down.

Aston Villa vs Watford

So Aston Villa were terrible last week. Seriously terrible. Every time Everton went forward, it looked like they’d score. As for Watford, they were seriously unlucky against Manchester United. A 1-1 draw looked to be on the cards, until that last-minute own goal. Lawro thinks they’ll get the 1-1 result this time, though. Yes, Lawro is going for a 1-1 draw in this match. It’s 21/10 for the draw and 11/2 for the correct score. Oh, surely the class Watford have up front should be more than enough for the Aston Villa defence.

Bournemouth vs Everton

It’s a big game here, with Bournemouth losing a 2-0 lead last week away to Swansea, while Everton got back to their attacking best. But Lawro is getting back on the Cherries bandwagon. He’s going for a 2-1 home win. It’s 19/10 for the Bournemouth win and it’s 10/1 for the correct score. Ugh, this is a horrible game, I reckon we’ll get a draw here, or maybe the value is in the away win.

Crystal Palace vs Newcastle

Alan Pardew taking on his old team here. He’s gone great guns at Palace, while Steve McLaren has just not had a great time of it since taking over at Newcastle. Selhurst Park isn’t going to be an easy place for the struggling Newcastle United to get points. But Lawro is thinking Newcastle will get a point with a 1-1 draw here. The draw pays 11/4 and the correct score pays 13/2.

Manchester City vs Southampton

Manchester City need to get back to winning ways here, after getting thumped by Liverpool last weekend. And what better chance than playing Southampton at home? Lawro thinks they’ll get back to winning ways with a 2-0 win. It’s 1/2 for the home win and 15/2 for the correct score. Surely Manchester City can’t become the next team in crisis? I doubt it, get on the Manchester City win.

Sunderland vs Stoke

This is the big one, folks. Well, probably not, actually, but still, Sunderland got a win on Monday, which shocked everyone – maybe not the win, but the way they didn’t look like utter garbage. Well done, Sunderland. But Stoke are playing well. Really well, in fact. But Lawro thinks that Sunderland will edge this, winning 2-1. It’s 23/10 for the home win and 12/1 for the correct score. Come on, Stoke have some class in their side, and they’re on a bit of a roll, so I’d be going for a tight away win here.

Leicester vs Manchester United

This is the game of tSaturday, folks. We have the excitement of Leicester against the utter awfulness of Manchester United. Can Jamie Vardey continue breaking records? I honestly hope so. It’s exciting, isn’t it? Compare that to just hoping Manchester United score! Lawro thinks Manchester United will outscore Leicester, and win 2-1. 13/10 for the Manchester United win, and 9/1 for the correct score. I know I say this every week, but Leicester are still being underrated. Manchester United got lucky last week, and now after a European game, I can see Leicester nicking at least a point here. In fact, I’ll be having a few quid on Leicester, no matter what Lawro says.

But why not use the late kick-off to have a bet and use Bet365’s Bore Draw promotion? Head on over to Bet365 and get involved. Have a punt on Manchester United to win 2-1, (or my call of a Leicester 3-2 win) and if it ends 0-0, get your money back.

Tottenham vs Chelsea

If Leicester facing Manchester United was the game was the game of Saturday, this is the game of Sunday, probably even the weekend. Spurs are the form team in the Premiership, while Chelsea are just a bit rubbish still. Both teams have had European trips this week, so there might be a bit of fatigue. Lawro isn’t expecting a classic here, and is going for a 1-1 draw. It’s 5/2 for the draw and 6/1 for the correct score.

Again, since this has the potential for a 0-0, not use Bet365’s Bore Draw promotion? Head on over to Bet365 and get involved. Have a punt on the 1-1 draw as Lawro has predicted, and if it ends 0-0, get your money back.

West Ham vs West Brom

Battle of the Wests, and I can’t get as excited as I am about Spurs versus Chelsea. Lawro is predicting a West Ham win, and a 2-1 win at that. West Brom had a great result last weekend over Arsenal, people might just think they’re classier than they actually are. I don’t think they’re as great as that result suggests, that’s for sure. West Ham win, though? Ugh, I wouldn’t like to be getting on it. But the West Ham win is 19/20 and and the correct score is 17/2/

Liverpool vs Swansea

Liverpool are looking to continue the good form, on the back of thumping Manchester City. They’re playing an inconsistent Swansea who battled hard to come from 2-0 to draw 2-2 at Bournemouth, and they had chances to nick the win. But Lawro, the staunch Liverpool man that he is, doesn’t care Liverpool have had a European trip, he’s going for a 2-0 win for the Reds. The home win pays 4/9 and the correct score of 2-0 pays a paltry 6/1. 2-0 for Liverpool? Come on! Give them some credit up front, Lawro. Swansea should be getting a goal or two, too! 3-1 for me.

Norwich vs Arsenal

Last game of the weekend and Arsenal are on the road again. They lost to West Brom and they need to get back to winning ways to keep their title ambitions on track. These are the games they have to win, and a game against Norwich is winnable. However, so many injuries for Arsenal, and a tired squad after their European win isn’t going to help. But Lawro thinks they have enough firepower and class to see off Norwich and is going for a 2-0 win. The Arsenal win pays 4/7 and the correct score is a decent enough 8/1. Yeah, I think Arsenal are getting back to winning ways this week, and Norwich might be put to the sword big time. 3-0? 4-0? It’s possible!

It’s a tricky week of predictions this week. We have some evenly-matched teams facing each other like West Ham and West Brom, and then there’s the big question of just how bad are Chelsea and how good is Tottenham’s current form? Are Leicester going to be title contenders, or at least Top 4 contenders? That game at Leicester is HUGE! So a lot of questions to be answered, but also a lot of tough predictions for Mark Lawrenson this week. Let’s just hope Lawro gets back to winning ways, as our profits from his predictions might just fade fast if we don’t get a couple of correct scores on the board. You can do it, Lawro. Have faith!

Remember that if you are going to follow Mark Lawrenson’s predictions, place your bets at Bet365 through the link below, where you will get up to £200 free and place a bet on the game prior to kick-off on the correct score, half-time/full-time or scorecast market, and if the game ends 0-0 you will get your stake refunded, which is always nice. Basically, if you like following Lawro’s tips on the correct scores, and why wouldn’t you, Bet365 is the place to do it to get your Bore Draw security blanket.